Vol. 69.] GEOLOGICAL HISTORY OF THE- MALAY PEXLNSULA. 347 



are well known to me. At the foot of the Main Range is a chain 

 of quartzite-, conglomerate-, and shale-hills that I have called 

 elsewhere the ' Main Range Foothills:' These are almost certainly 

 continued northwards into Kelantan, and enter Negri Sembilan in 

 the south. 



Travelling eastwards from these Main Range Foothills, one en- 

 counters a huge isolated range of hills, the Benom Range, com- 

 posed of mica-granite, hornblende-granite, and syenitic rocks. 

 Small granitic outcrops on the River Tanun mark the dying away 

 of this range to the north ; and on the south similar outcrops are 

 found extending into Negri Sembilan. Mount. Ophir, in Johore, 

 near the Malacca border, may prove to be a southern prolongation 

 of the Benom granite. 



Eastward again from the Benom Range and to the east of the 

 Pahang River is a great belt of hilly country, composed of 

 quartzite, conglomerate, and shale, that extends northwards into 

 Kelantan and southwards into the Rumpin District. The trend of 

 the hills points directly to Singapore, where similar rocks are 

 exposed ; and it is believed that these Singapore quartzites, etc., 

 and the Pahang quartzites are connected by outcrops in Johore. 

 It is impossible to speak more definitely at present on this point, 

 but a traverse along the greater part of the Johore Railway 

 left little doubt as to what may be expected when further research 

 can be undertaken in that part of the Peninsula. 



This belt of hills east of the Pahang River may be described 

 conveniently as the ' Main Gondwana Outcrop,' for reasons that 

 will be given later. It is for the most part composed of hills 

 of no great altitude : in the north of Pahang and the south of 

 Kelantan, however, the outcrop is bounded on the west by the 

 Tahan Range, composed of the same rocks, but containing the 

 highest peak in the whole Peninsula, Gunong Tahan. (Gunong 

 Tahan is' 7188 feet above sea-level ; Gunong Riam, or Kerbau, 

 the highest peak in the Main Range, 7160 feet ; Gunong Benom, 

 in the Benom Range, 6916 feet.) 



East of the Main Gondwana Outcrop in Pahang and Kemaman 

 are more granitic ranges; and the island of Tiuman in the China Sea 

 is built up of granite, with some highly-altered sedimentary rocks. 



Apart from these granitic and quartzitic ranges, there are in 

 the Peninsula numerous limestone-hills with precipitous sides that 

 ■afford most interesting evidence of the past history of this part 

 of the world. They are not marked on the map, except Gunong 

 Geriang in Kedah ; and it is sufficient to say that the greatest 

 development of them is found in the Kinta district of Perak. There 

 are several limestone-hills in Pahang, some being of great size. 



The western coast of the Peninsula is mostly low-lying mangrove- 

 swamp, extending in some parts for many miles inland and broken 

 by occasional sandy beaches, isolated granite-hills, and small isolated 

 quartzite-hills. Much of this low-lying tract has been reclaimed, 

 and furnishes very fine agricultural land. 



